... was spit roasted in their wood burning oven before rolling onto a plate of tomato sauced, perfectly cooked Great Northern beans.

If you are a carne-voider or if you simply want a great compliment to this swine supper, get a Verdure ($14.00):

... this platter of asparagus, romanesco, broccoli di cicco, spinach and carrots is not the typical act of aggression towards vegetarians found in most restaurants - it dresses up dinner for those who skirt the steak.

This Monday-only pig treat is not only delicious, it’s a great deal. So hop on the stick to get what is hopping off.

We had a fun afternoon speaking with a bunch of San Francisco students who treated us to the latest in Japanese dessert developments - chocolate marshmallow manju made by Benkyodo.

This is a new flavor for 2009 which means that this year, for the first time, samurai can sit around the campfire and enjoy this graham cracker-less take on s’mores. The absence of a brittle cracker makes for ninja noise levels while noshing on these subtly sweet, cocoa infused bean, marshmallow and rice balls.

Was it the good food or the green screen ready setting that attracted Food Network’s peroxide punter to San Rafael’s Sol Food? Even though I get a little twinge of dread that one of our eating stops is being networkized, selling Sol will probably help keep this place out of the red. I personally do not think that Sol Food qualifies as a diner, drive-in or dive but since somebody ploughed their car into it last year, I suppose that they are technically eligible.

Even though I’m not crazy about the French bread, I know that replacing it with pain au levain would strip the regional vibe from the chow and the bistec sandwich ($8.95):

... is pretty tasty despite this limitation. Thin slices of grass-fed beef, melted Swiss cheese, aioli, sauteed onions, avocado and an assist from some more of that pepper sauce placed this sandwich in the reorder category. If you are a meat eater, but not a wheat eater, you can get a beef sandwiched between two large tostones (smooshed, fried, plantains.)

We’re really not into the whole green beer thing, but we do enjoy the giant wall of cabbage that greets us at the market this time of year. Our 43¢ purchase provided us with an excellent excuse to try Michael Ruhlman’s sandwich recipe.

We figured that if the co-writer of the French Laundry Cookbook ate these for lunch on a regular basis, they must be worth a try.

We picked up some non-artisanal wheat bread, spread it with peanut butter, grated and seasoned some carrots and topped it with a slab of cab:

This crunchy, salty, sweet and nutty lunch is what we refer to as fetish food - the kind of chow you usually enjoy in private. It was odd, satisfying and would probably pair well with green beer.

-G

Mark your Calendar

You can Philip your Glass with sparkling wine at the San Francisco Opera House and transform it into a magic flute during the Wine Enthusiast Toast of the Town event. Whether you want to get a handel on which wines sing or conduct a critical comparison of canapes, this production is a hard act to follow.